


Jasmine Petals

by JaneNightwork



Category: Avatar: The Last Airbender
Genre: Alternate Universe - Canon Divergence, F/M, Fluff, Katara and Zuko roadtrip, Post-Canon, Post-Canon Fix-It
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-08-01
Updated: 2020-09-01
Packaged: 2021-03-06 05:41:49
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 3
Words: 14,975
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/25658374
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/JaneNightwork/pseuds/JaneNightwork
Summary: A new-crowned Fire Lord Zuko decides to go on a quest to find his mother, and Katara volunteers to go with him. When revelations about their feelings for each other come to light, Katara gets the chance to find out whether she really can have everything she's ever wanted.A post-canon fix-it of sorts, in which Katara goes on a second life-changing trip with Zuko.
Relationships: Katara/Zuko (Avatar)
Comments: 9
Kudos: 62





	1. Prologue: Ba Sing Se

**Author's Note:**

> Welcome to my first foray into Zutara fic! I just recently finished the series and I've been having so much fun diving into the fandom! This fic is complete, so I'll be posting once a week until it's finished. :)

Katara smiled fondly at the scene in front of her. Everyone was gathered at the palace in Ba Sing Se. Later on they’d have dinner with the Earth King, but for right now it was just the gang. The newly crowned Fire Lord drifted from table to table, handing out cups of Iroh’s best blend of jasmine green tea. Zuko looked so— _handsome_ , she thought automatically. _Unburdened_ , she firmly corrected herself. Her eyes lingered on his smiling face, obeying her heart rather than her mind. 

For the first time since she lost her mother, Katara finally felt like she had time to breathe. Time to _think_ , and to process what she wanted, rather than trying to take on the role of guardian and role model for everyone around her, while trying to save the world at the same time. She realized that Zuko must be feeling something similar. The war of the Avatar had been going on for him just as long as it had for her, but in some ways Zuko’s struggle had been even more painful. She’d always had the love and support of her family and friends. She’d never questioned whether her father loved her, never felt that she had to break and unmake herself to gain the acceptance of her people. And she never had to learn that she’d been on the wrong side of a war she didn’t start, but was obligated to help end. 

No wonder he looked as if several tons of weight had been lifted from him, even as he now bore the responsibility of leading his nation. 

“Zuko, stop moving around—I’m trying to capture the moment!”

All eyes turned to Sokka, bent over a piece of paper, paintbrush in hand. His voice changed from scolding to wistful. “I wanted to do a painting, so we’d always remember the good times together.”

Katara’s heart swelled. This was one of her favorite things about her brother: beneath his bluster, there was a strong current of sentimentality.

“That’s very thoughtful of you, Sokka,” she said. 

Then she looked at the painting. Sokka’s artistic talents were—well, he always worked very hard on his art, and that was the important thing, but—

“Wait. Why did you give me Momo’s ears?!”

“Those are your hair loopies!”

The rest of the gang crowded around to look, too, and everyone had feedback.

“At least you don’t look like a porcupine. My hair is not that spiky,” said Zuko.

“I look like a man,” Suki casually observed.

The complaints went on, until Toph finally exclaimed, “Well I think you all look perfect!”

Everyone laughed, including Sokka. Katara looked up to see that Aang had slipped out of the room and onto the patio, probably to spend time with Appa. She was a little worried about him; he’d been uncharacteristically quiet since defeating Ozai. She followed him outside, and found him leaning against the railing and staring out over Ba Sing Se. He smiled softly when he noticed her approach.

“How are you, Aang? How are you really feeling?” she asked him. His smile widened, and she knew he’d anticipated the question.

“I’m okay. I guess I never really let myself wonder what this would be like. You know, _after_. Ever since you broke me out of the ice, I’ve been focused on Ozai. Well, that and penguin sledding.” He gave her one of his Aang-bright grins, wide enough to crinkle his eyes and transform his whole face. In a sudden flash of understanding she realized no matter how things changed as he grew into his role as the Avatar, he’d always be her best friend.

The comforting feeling lasted even after his expression fell and turned thoughtful again.

“Everything else was just going to have to wait, and now—”

“Now you don’t have to wait anymore,” she supplied. “Isn’t that a good thing?”

“Yeah, but there’s so much I have to do. The Earth Kingdom and Fire Nation need help rebuilding, and the Southern Water Tribe needs help surviving, at least until your population gets back to its normal size. And the Air Nomads—I’m not even sure what to do yet. It’s a lot to think about.”

“You don’t have to think about it, or change it alone. We’re all here for you, Aang. We’ll rebuild the world together.” 

“You know, Zuko said the same thing.” He looked at her with a mischievous glint in his eye. “You and Zuko really have a lot in common. More than you want to admit, I think.”

Katara looked out over the rooftops of Ba Sing Se, hoping her blush didn’t show up too brightly.

“Zuko has turned out to be a lot different than I thought at first. I’m glad he’s on our side.”

Aang _hmm’d_ in agreement, but she could still feel his gaze on her.

“Do you remember the players on Ember Island?”

How could she forget? She’d never felt so vulnerable, so cracked open as when she saw the stage version of herself kissing Zuko in the crystal cave. She still wished she knew who wrote that damn play, so she could wring their neck for embarrassing her. And for shoving into her face that which she wanted, but knew she could never have. 

“Mmm-hmm,” she mumbled, still looking away.

“I talked to Zuko that night after we left, about his feelings for you.”

At this she startled in shock and turned to look at him, stunned into silence.

“I feel a certain responsibility toward the young lad. I _am_ technically his great-grandfather, after all.” Another grin, while Katara just stared at him. “I figured if even some stranger knew enough about how you both felt to include it in the play, I should tell him that I knew, too. He was so worried that Sokka and I wouldn’t approve, and so convinced he didn’t deserve you, that he never even stopped to wonder if you liked him, too. I—I told him you do. I hope you aren’t mad.”

Katara felt tears fill her eyes. The Ember Island play was so long ago, so much had happened, they’d been through so much— _he’d taken a bolt of lightning through the chest for her_ —but he’d never said anything, never given the slightest indication that he might feel anything more than friendship for her. And he’d known about her crush the whole time. She wished she could ask Toph to make the earth open up and swallow her.

“I’m not mad, Aang,” she said in a small voice. “I just wish you hadn’t said anything.”

“But why? Now that we’ve defeated Ozai, you and Zuko can be together.”

“Shh!” Katara whipped around to make sure no one else was paying attention. Fortunately, they weren’t. Everyone else was still inside, enjoying their tea. “I can’t be with Zuko! He’s with Mai. He doesn’t like me that way.”

“Uh, Katara?” Aang looked at her as though she’d been drinking psychedelic cactus juice, or had grown a second head. “Mai is definitely not with Zuko anymore. He broke up with her when he left to join us. There’s a story there, but it’s not mine to tell. They’re friends again, so that’s good, but she’s with Ty Lee now.”

“Oh.”

“Yeah, ‘oh,’” said Aang, smirking at her a bit. “Wow, you two really _are_ similar. You know the other reason he didn’t want you to find out how he feels? He was convinced I was in love with you, and you’d choose me over him.”

“Huh?”

Katara was really going to have to work on lengthening her sentences at some point. “That’s what I said! ‘Huh?’ Cause, of course I love you. You’re Katara! But I thought it was obvious that it wasn’t like that for us.”

“I would’ve thought so too, but I guess not,” she mused.

“So…?” Aang waggled his eyebrows, playfully suggestive.

“I don’t know, I guess we’ll see what happens.” She needed to spend time with Zuko himself, to make sure Aang wasn’t somehow mistaken. She frowned in thought. “Why are you so invested in the two of us getting together?”

To her surprise, Aang blushed a little.

“Well, for one thing, the most important thing, I want you both to be happy. For another thing, I think it’s good to show everyone out there that people from different nations can put aside their differences and fall in love. I think you two can set a really good example for the future.”

“That all sounds very reasonable, Aang. But why are you blushing?”

“Do you remember On Ji, from the Fire Nation?”

It took a moment, but the memory finally came back to her.

“The girl from the school? The one you danced with?”

Aang nodded, blushing harder. Katara laughed outright and drew him into a spontaneous hug. When she released him, she wagged her finger in mock scolding.

“So _that_ ’ _s_ the real reason we couldn’t keep you away from that school.”

He shrugged, looking sheepish, but didn’t deny it. They were quiet for a moment, just enjoying each other’s company.

“Zuko’s planning on going to find his mother,” said Aang.

“I’m glad. He deserves to know what happened to her, and maybe they can see each other again.” She paused. “I’ll offer to go with him. I would have anyway, even if we hadn’t talked about…all this. He was there for me when I—” A flash of memory behind her eyes, of bloodbending the wrong Fire Nation raider, of raining ice down on a pathetic, murderous fool.

“When I needed his help.”

“Good.” Aang patted her on the arm. “Now let’s go in, before Toph hogs the rest of the tea.”

She chuckled, and followed him back inside. Just as they crossed into the room, the gentle scent of green tea and jasmine leaves floated out to her. She closed her eyes and breathed in the smell, smiling involuntarily. When had she begun associating the smell of jasmine with Zuko? It must have been early in their travels together. He always favored jasmine green tea; he brewed it for the gang every day, mostly as a peace offering at first. But she could also tell that it was comforting to him, because it reminded him of Iroh. She’d grown to find comfort in the ritual, too, and now even the smell of jasmine made her feel safe and warm, and brought with it memories of sitting around the campfire exchanging stories. Of his hesitant smile, and the guarded hope in his eyes.

He looked up the second she walked back into the room, as if he’d been waiting for her. He gave her that same tentative half-smile he always did, but he must’ve seen something in her expression, because his eyes lingered on hers longer than either of them would normally have dared. She felt her heart beat faster and her cheeks heat. He looked away right before Toph said, far too casually to actually be casual, “I’ve been meaning to tell you Katara, you look very pretty today.”

“Why thank you, Toph,” she laughed. Zuko held up a fresh cup of tea in offering, which she gladly accepted. She turned back to Toph. “Though I don’t know why I look any different to you today than any other day.”

“Touché, Sugar Queen. It’s true, I’m blind. But _someone_ ’ _s_ blood pressure keeps skyrocketing whenever you’re around, even more than normal, so I can only assume you look extra hot.” Toph turned her face in Zuko’s direction. “What do you think, Zuko?”

“What do I—what do you mean, what do I think? Are you asking if—”

“I think he’s contemplating burning your feet again, for being a troublemaker. And I’m thinking that if he does, I won’t heal you this time,” Katara said, but without anger. From the corner of her eye she watched Zuko slump in relief at not having to answer the question. Toph grinned, neither hurt nor intimidated.

“All right, all right, I’ll leave Sparky alone.”

“Sparky?” Zuko spluttered.

“Better than ‘Sugar Queen.’”

“That is debatable.”

“I’ll leave you two crazy kids alone. I’m going to find some food,” Toph announced, and in another moment she’d disappeared into the depths of the castle.

Zuko looked at her, and for a split second she believed everything Aang had just told her, in spite of all her lingering doubts. The thought made her brave.

“I’m going with you, to find your mother.”

He blinked in surprise, but when she held his gaze he finally shook his head and smiled.

“I should’ve known you’d find out before I had the chance to tell you. And that you’d insist on coming.”

“I want to help you.”

“And I want your help. Trust me, Katara, your offer means more than you can know.” He was quiet for a moment, staring into his tea. “For so long I only had Uncle, and even then I fought him every step of the way. It’s nice to have more than one person who wants to help me.”

She laid a hand on his arm. “Your uncle and I aren’t the only ones, you know.”

He nodded, and they were quiet again. Iroh’s music drifted through the room, keeping them from feeling obligated to talk.

“Do you know anything about where she is?”

“No. I’ve already gone to my father once, but he wasn’t exactly forthcoming. I think we’ll have to find another way.”

They brainstormed ideas for a little while, and finally decided to start with trying to find the guards that were on duty the night his mother disappeared. Someone, they reasoned, had to have helped her escape the city. Eventually Sokka called them away to dinner. Katara turned to follow her brother, but stopped when she felt Zuko’s hand on her elbow, gently holding her back.

She looked up at him in question, to find that his gaze back at her was direct and intense, his mouth set in lines of determination.

“You do look beautiful today, Katara. Today and every day.”

He didn’t wait long enough for her to answer. He just walked past her, leaving her rooted to the spot in shock.


	2. Deserter Village

When they met up the next day to begin their search for answers, Katara wasn’t sure how to act. He’d said he thought she was beautiful; did that mean things would be different between them now? She was nervous at first, but he treated her the same as he had before, and she quickly relaxed. They decided to track down Iroh, and found him having tea with Aang, King Bumi, and a few other members of the Order of the White Lotus.

“I want to search for my mother,” Zuko announced, once he and Katara had been served tea and exchanged hellos.

Iroh nodded; this clearly wasn’t a surprise. Katara looked around at the other members and found that none of them looked shocked, either. She wondered how close-knit the Order truly was, and how much Iroh would have shared with them. 

“Our first thought was to try to find the guards that were on duty the night Azulon died,” Katara explained. Iroh nodded again, as did a few of the other men around the table. 

“Every guard on duty the night of Azulon’s death was banished—that was Ozai’s first order as Fire Lord,” said Iroh. 

“At least they weren’t executed,” Zuko reasoned. 

“True, but they could be anywhere now. Depending on where they went, they could have ended up being killed by their own nation,” said Katara. They could also have been killed by vengeful Earth Kingdom people, if their identities were discovered, she thought privately. 

“You know, after all this time, your mother might have gone to her extended family’s estate in the Earth Kingdom,” Iroh mused, stroking his beard.

“She had an estate?” Zuko looked bewildered. 

“No, it wasn’t hers. It was part of her extended family. I don’t remember where the estate was, or even the family name. I apologize. I only remember that when your father wanted to marry your mother, it caused a bit of a scandal that she had some distant Earth Kingdom relatives. Bumi, have you heard anything about Fire Nationals, or about Ursa specifically?”

Bumi looked at Zuko and Katara with his signature penetrating stare. Katara fought the urge to shift uncomfortably; ever since Bumi had tricked her into thinking she was dying, she’d never quite been able to like him. He evaluated them through a long beat of silence, then seemed to shrug.

“Well, one hears things. But who can say what’s the truth? What I do know, is that Jeong Jeong often helps exiles from the Fire Nation smuggle themselves into the Earth Kingdom and start new lives. Maybe you should go and speak to him. He should be back to Deserter’s Village by now, shouldn’t he?”

Zuko huffed in disappointment, and Katara was tempted to do the same. Zuko had sent Jeong Jeong back to the northern reaches of the Fire Nation to report back on conditions there, and to help with the transition from war to peacetime. Jeong Jeong was uniquely suited for the role, but it did mean he was at least a day’s travel away. 

“You should go now, before the more powerful people from your father’s era have time to get over their shock and begin to organize against you,” said Iroh. 

“Taking time away from your duties as Fire Lord is a demonstration of vulnerability you can ill afford,” Piandao agreed. Before Katara could argue with him, he went on, “But I can see that it’s equally important to you to begin this new era of Fire Nation history by healing the one before it. That includes welcoming home those who have been unfairly banished.”

“You don’t have to justify wanting to find your mother. You know that,” Katara said softly. Zuko closed his eyes and nodded, rubbing at the back of his neck in thought.

“I know, I’m just worried. And Piandao’s right—things are so unstable right now.”

“We won’t be gone long. Aang and your uncle can keep things on track until we find her.”

“You should take Appa,” Aang interjected. Zuko and Katara both opened their mouths to protest, but Aang cut them off. “Travel still isn’t safe, and who knows how far you’ll have to go, and how fast. I’ll feel better if you take him. Besides, that way, when you find your mom, you can bring her home that much faster.”

***

“I’m not sure I believed Bumi, that he had no idea where my mother is,” Zuko said thoughtfully as they loaded Appa’s saddle with supplies. 

Or reloaded, more accurately, Katara thought to herself. Strange as it was to think about, it wasn’t very long at all since the whole gang had essentially been living on Appa’s back. The past few days of being called Lady Katara and having a beautifully appointed private suite in both the Fire Nation and Ba Sing Se had been jarring. Though the comfortable beds and daily hot baths had been easy to get used to, sleeping completely by herself had not. She was used to being surrounded by her brother and friends; hearing their snores and snuffles, and just knowing they were close by, was comforting. In the quiet luxury of her new status, she’d begun to have persistant nightmares. 

“That does seem like something he would know,” she agreed. “But then, what reason would he have to lie? Bumi is, well—Aang calls him a mad genius, though I’m more inclined to say just ‘mad.’ He trapped Sokka and I once inside growing crystals and made us think we were going to die unless Aang beat a series of puzzles. The crystal turned out to be rock candy, though. So he’s unconventional, but not malicious.”

Katara looked up to see that Zuko was staring at her, holding a blanket roll in the air, having paused halfway through lifting it onto Appa’s saddle. His expression was furious. 

“It was just rock candy!” she said again, half worried that he would march off and challenge Bumi to an Angi Kai. “I should’ve known better myself and tried harder to get out. But my bending skills at the time weren’t that great. He did it because Aang needed to learn to view things from unconventional angles.”

Zuko turned away, deliberately hiding his face from her. She watched his tensed shoulders. 

“Your capacity for forgiveness is very impressive. But that does not give other people the right to hurt you for Aang’s benefit,” he said at last.

He was right, of course, though she never would have thought of it if he hadn’t pointed it out. Aang was very good at not expecting too much from her, or using his position as the Avatar to ask her to put herself second. But how many times had she done that to herself? It wasn’t fair for Bumi to make her and Sokka think they were going to die just to teach Aang a lesson. Nor was it fair for her to encourage Aang to become Pakku’s student in spite of his backward ways. Granted, that adventure had turned out for the best. She smirked, remembering when she taught Master Pakku a lesson of his own. And when she subsequently fought Zuko and won—twice—shortly thereafter.

“What a long way we’ve come since you called me a little peasant,” she teased. 

Zuko grimaced. “I did say that, didn’t I? I was bluffing. I already had a very healthy fear and respect for your abilities, and I thought as highly of you then as I do now. Though I was too much of a coward to admit it, even to myself. It’s a wonder you didn’t bloodbend me to an early death on the spot.”

“I’m glad I didn’t.” 

Despite Aang’s insistence that Zuko had feelings for her, she wouldn’t necessarily have characterized him as thinking “highly” of her. They liked each other, and respected each other, certainly, but there was something in the tone of his voice that made her think he meant something deeper than that. And to know that he’d felt that way about her for a long time was deeply flattering. 

They finished loading up their supplies in silence, and climbed aboard Appa’s back, both feeling a little too exposed to make direct eye contact. 

The last time she’d been on a trip alone with Zuko, they’d been flying off to find the man who killed her mother. Katara remembered that time as she watched Zuko navigating Appa, while the cities and fields of the Earth Kingdom gently floated by far beneath them. It was different this time. She’d been so focused on avenging her mother that she’d very purposely not stopped to think about what she was really doing, trusting Zuko to take her deep into Fire Nation territory so that she could kill a member of his own forces. She also hadn’t thought about what it might mean that he understood her, supported her, and didn’t shy away from either the darkest parts of herself or shame her for showing mercy. 

The day marched on, and eventually it grew late. Katara set up their bedrolls side by side (being careful to leave a little distance between them), and then climbed under her own blankets. 

“Zuko,” she called to him. He turned around and gave her that half smile. She held out a hand and beckoned. “Come and get some sleep, before you fall off Appa’s head. He knows where to go.”

He looked reluctant, but joined her anyway. 

“You sleep. I’ll take first watch,” he said.

“I don’t think we need to take turns anymore. The war’s over, and we’re both tired.” She patted the blankets she’d laid out for him. “Let’s both turn in. We should be there by morning, and we’ll want to be fresh for when we meet Jeong Jeong.” 

Zuko looked ready to argue, but then he yawned, wide enough to crack his jaw. He ran a hand through his hair and cast a guilty look at Appa’s head. 

“Appa will let us know if something’s wrong,” she reassured him. “Won’t you, Appa?”

Appa gave a friendly growl. 

“Okay, okay. But first, tea.” Zuko rummaged around in his pack and brought out a kettle and two cups. He turned to her. “A little water?”

She dutifully drew water from the clouds around them and filled the kettle. 

“Won’t tea keep us awake though?”

“This is a tisane with chamomile and lavender, so no,” he said, concentrating on heating the kettle with firebending. When he was satisfied that the tea had steeped long enough, he even heated her mug for her before pouring out her cup. It was the perfect temperature, and instead of making her feel more alert, the tisane gave her a lovely feeling of warm, cozy sleepiness. 

They both laid down, but still faced each other. It was a beautiful night. They traveled above the clouds, and thousands of stars were visible in every direction. The night seemed full of endless possibilities. That might have frightened her before, but now it was exciting, and somehow comforting. Now all the people she loved were free to write their own destinies. 

“Goodnight, Zuko. Don’t worry; we’ll find your mom soon. I know we will.”

He nodded, smiling softly. “Goodnight, Katara. Sleep well.”

She thought she’d be safe from the nightmares with Zuko so nearby, and the familiar feeling of flying on Appa to lull her to sleep. She was at first. She fell asleep more easily than she had in weeks, which she put down to the company and the tea. But it was colder than she thought it would be, flying so high. She hadn’t thought to put her warmer furs back on, and was still wearing the lighter, more breathable Earth Kingdom dress she’d been wearing when they set off from Ba Sing Se. The blankets weren’t enough to keep her warm, and the feeling of cold was something that had always disturbed Katara’s sleep. At home in the South Pole, ice and snow and cold were as much a part of everyday life as breathing. She was accustomed to it. She was also accustomed to her tribe’s thick, waterproof furs, and their ingenious ways of insulating their homes against the elements. Despite the arctic climate, for someone in the Southern Water Tribe to feel cold was a bad sign. It meant one of their protective measures had failed, and it could mean imminent danger from hypothermia. 

She was cold in her nightmare. Sozin’s Comet blazed across the sky, unstoppable as the flames of the Fire Nation troops raining destruction on everything they touched. Azula stared at her, the tips of her fingers mere centimeters from Katara’s face. She’d trapped them both in a wall of ice, which was the only reason she hadn’t taken a bolt of lightning directly between the eyes. She breathed, and the ice surrounding her turned liquid enough for her to move— _firebending comes from the breath—_ while she chained Azula’s lethal hands behind her back. 

She ran away from Azula without even sparing her a glance, dashing toward Zuko, who laid flat on his back, his expressionless face staring up at sky. 

“Zuko? _Zuko!_ ” She shook his shoulders, ignoring that he wasn’t breathing. She called all the water she could find and pressed her palms against his chest. Only a few feet away, Azula hyperventilated, screamed, and raged, breathing fire and writhing in agony. Katara ignored her. “Why did you do that, Zuko? Why did you do that for me? I could’ve dodged it—”

Her healing wasn’t working. The water in her hands was cold. Zuko was cold, too—was that what happened when a firebender died? His lips were turning blue, and the fire that was always in his eyes was gone. 

Zuko was gone. 

Katara screamed, and it was the sound of her own voice that woke her, but only partially. She lunged blindly for Zuko, sobbing, not awake enough to hear his squawk of surprise. Still gripped in the claws of her nightmare, she ripped his shirt open to reveal the scar on his chest, called water to her hands from the canteen at her side, and tried to heal him. 

“Katara, wake up. Hey, I’m all right, it’s over— _Katara._ ”

Zuko grabbed her wrists and wrenched her hands away from his heart, but only so that he could put his arms around her and hold her close. The combination of his voice, murmuring soothing words, and the feeling of her cheek against his shoulder— _warm not cold, alive not dead, here not gone_ —finally brought her back to waking life. 

“You already saved me. I knew you would. Never even questioned it. You saved me a long time ago,” he said, voice laden with sleep as he patted her hair. 

She waited for the embarrassment to kick in, for the overwhelming urge to scuttle away from him and start making up excuses and apologies. But there was no one around to tease her or poke fun at her antics, and no one around who needed her to be strong, even if she didn’t necessarily feel strong. Zuko didn’t seem to mind that she’d woken him from a dead sleep, ripped his shirt open, and poured cold water on his chest. He just held her, rubbing soothing circles between her shoulder blades. She felt the adrenaline ebb from her body, and her eyes begin to droop again, lulled by the reassuring warmth of his nearness and the steady thump of his heartbeat.

She gathered the water she’d splashed and redirected it to her canteen, then touched the edge of his shirt where it laid open.

“I’m sorry about that. I can sew it for you in the morning.”

He caught her hand in his and placed it on his chest, over his already-fading scar. With the palm of her hand flat against his skin— _warm, alive, here_ —she could feel the rise and fall of his chest as he relaxed back into sleep. She wondered if he would’ve held her like this if he was fully awake and alert, and considered moving away to sleep under her own pile of blankets. But that would have meant taking her hand out from under his. It would have woken him, and he looked so peaceful. She was warm next to him, safe and comfortable. 

Katara closed her eyes and fell into a healing sleep with dreams of swirling colors and the sound of distant, joyful laughter. 

When she woke the next morning, Zuko wasn’t next to her, but she could hear him nearby. Appa had landed in a secluded, wooded area near a river. It was Appa’s snores that woke her, which made her smile. He was a good sky bison, and he deserved his rest. She could also hear a small fire, and the everyday sounds of Zuko cooking something. 

When she moved to sit up, she realized that Zuko had draped both sets of blankets over her, and had tucked them in around her sides and feet. The gesture was so like the person he’d grown into over the last year: quiet, thoughtful, intuitive. 

She joined him by the fire, and gratefully accepted the cup of tea he offered her.

“I thought we’d be at Deserter’s Village earlier, but it’s a little farther than the map makes it look. Appa got tired, and I know you prefer to camp somewhere near water. I hope this is okay.”

Katara looked around the peaceful woods and nodded. “It’s perfect.”

They were silent a moment, until Zuko turned his gaze on her.

“Why didn’t you tell anyone you’ve been having nightmares?”

“It hasn’t been that bad,” she hedged. He gave her a look that kept her from going on.

“Our rooms were next to each other in Capital City. I heard you screaming every night. I hoped the chamomile and lavender would help.”

Katara slumped, defeated. 

“It didn’t start until everything was over. The whole time we were fighting, I never let myself think about what would’ve happened if we lost. And then when everything turned out okay, all of a sudden the ‘what ifs’ came to me in my dreams. I was hoping that being with you would keep them away, because I’d know you were right there and not, you know—gone. But I got cold, and I always have nightmares when I’m cold.”

“I thought that might be part of it,” he nodded. “I woke up before you shouted, because you said my name in your sleep. You were curled up and shivering, so I knew you were cold. We can share the blankets, if you want. Just to make sure you don’t get cold again,” he said very carefully, without looking at her. Her heart squeezed.

“I think we should, if it’s okay with you. I don’t want to wake you up every night with my screaming.”

“I don’t mind being woken, I mind you having nightmares in the first place. Now here, eat something.”

He handed her a plate of food, which she accepted with a small smile. They let Appa sleep as they ate in companionable silence.

“It feels strange not to be training all the time,” Zuko said, after they were done eating and cleaning up.

“Well, if you’d like, I have an idea we could try.” Katara grinned. “We couldn’t waste time on it before, but now I’m curious. Do you think if we worked together we could create steam, and then bend it?”

Zuko’s face lit up in excitement and curiosity. 

“Let’s do it.”

They went to the edge of the river and stood side by side. Katara called up a wall of water, and Zuko blasted fire through it. At first he just evaporated the water, but if he concentrated, he found that he could somewhat control the temperature of his fire, and after an hour they were reliably forming steam every time. Katara had to be quick about directing it, because it cooled almost immediately, but it was a fun experiment all the same. 

Once Appa woke up, they traveled the rest of the way to Deserter’s Village. It was much the same as Katara remembered it, though they were no longer in the middle of a festival, and she no longer had to wear a mask to be able to move around freely. Nor did Jeong Jeong need to keep his deserter status a secret. Rather, it was Zuko who needed to keep a low profile, at least at first. He may have been the new Fire Lord, but it wouldn’t do to advertise his presence so far from Capital City without knowing how the locals had taken to the change in leadership. 

Jeong Jeong gave them a warm welcome to his home, offering them a chance to get cleaned up and have a bite to eat. For the first few hours they talked exclusively about the local populace: how they were fairing, what the local attitude was, and the severity of any problems likely to arise. Katara was glad to hear that the people had mostly welcomed the change from Ozai to Zuko. Most of them seemed relieved that their children were far less likely to be conscripted into battle. The supply chain of food and other goods was mostly uninterrupted, though now that the war was over, Jeong Jeong had heard hopeful murmurs of trade routes opening between the Northern Water Tribe and the Earth Kingdom.

Katara surprised herself with how much she enjoyed discussing Fire Nation affairs. She promised to contact Arnook from the Northern Water Tribe to open discussions about trade, though she was careful not to make any promises. She listened and offered suggestions where she had them, and was gratified when both men listened to everything she said, and agreed with her more often than not.

“Politics suits you,” Jeong Jeong remarked. He glanced between her and Zuko thoughtfully. “I hope you’ll stay in a leadership position.”

This wasn’t something that had occurred to Katara; like Aang, she hadn’t really considered the “after” in terms of her own career. But what few plans she had made, she realized, had involved her continuing to work with Zuko and Aang. 

“I wasn’t thinking of this conversation as politics, but I suppose you’re right,” she said. 

“What do you think politics is?” Jeong Jeong asked.

“An elaborate game of pai sho in which selfish people try to grab power for themselves at the expense of everyone else,” she said resentfully, thinking of what little exposure she’d had to the leadership in the Northern Water Tribe, Omashu, and Ba Sing Se. Jeong Jeong nodded in agreement, as did Zuko, though he winced at the same time. 

“Many people do regard politics in that way. But you have the opportunity to change that. Ask yourself what you want politics to be, and then make it so. Your people, and ours, and the other nations’, have already benefited greatly from your leadership. It would be a shame to deprive them of that now.”

Katara nodded, and promised to give it more thought. Eventually, the conversation moved to the subject of their travels: Zuko’s quest to find Ursa. 

“Were you able to locate any of the guards that were on duty the night my mother killed Azulon?” Zuko asked. Jeong Jeong raised his eyebrows.

“Are you going to allow it to become public knowledge that your mother killed your grandfather?” 

“It’s the truth. It’s also the truth that I allied myself with the Avatar to dethrone my father and imprison my sister, and that once these goals were accomplished I took the crown for myself rather than restoring the line of succession to Iroh.”

“Your uncle abdicated,” Jeong Jeong dismissed with a wave of his hand. “Though I suppose you’re right: your mother’s actions were no more disruptive than yours. Still, be wary, Zuko. There are those who consider royalty to be sacred, and they may not take kindly to your welcoming back a regicidal Fire Lady.”

“My family lost its way a hundred years ago, when Sozin attacked the other nations. None of the Fire Lords have upheld their sacred duty. If royalty is indeed sacred, then my mother acted in defense of that sanctity to protect me from Azulon’s psychotic order to murder me. We need to regain our honor as a nation, and if we’re going to do that we need to start from scratch.”

Jeong Jeong tilted his head to the side.

“That line of reasoning could work.” 

Zuko grew frustrated. “Again, it’s the truth.”

“I agree with you,” Jeong Jeong held up his hands in a placating gesture. “But remember, Fire Lord Zuko: truth, like politics, is a matter of perspective. Now, to answer your question—I’ve lost touch with most of the guards, but I do know where one of them is. He’s in Gaipan Village.”

Katara tried not to show any reaction to the name, but she caught Zuko looking at her out of the corner of her eye. 

It would be painful to go back there, now that Jet was gone. She didn’t think she’d ever fully know how she felt about him. First she’d been enraptured, then disgusted with him and disappointed in herself for not seeing his true colors sooner. And then finally she’d just been so, so sad when she had to leave him behind in Ba Sing Se. 

In the end they decided to spend the night at Jeong Jeong’s house, so they could set off early the next morning. It was a long journey to Gaipan Village, and they’d already taxed Appa enough. Zuko also reluctantly agreed that it was probably a good idea for him to make an appearance in the village, since local sentiment seemed to mostly be in his favor.

Katara paced outside of the chamber where Zuko had gone to change into his Fire Lord robes. She’d changed as well, opting for her Fire Nation outfit. She told herself that it was to show respect by wearing the fashion of the country she was visiting, and that, unlike when they’d traveled above the clouds, it was summertime on the ground and quite hot, so her heavy furs or even her long Earth Kingdom gown would be uncomfortable. But the truth was, she wanted to match Zuko. And she loved this outfit: the deep red of the fabric complemented her skin tone and made her eyes stand out. It made her feel pretty, which was an indulgence she seldom allowed herself. But the longer she paced outside his door, the more she was beginning to doubt that Zuko would appreciate the gesture. What if he thought she was overstepping?

“Katara?” Zuko’s voice floated out from behind the closed door. 

“Yeah? I’m here,” she called, attempting for casual in her tone and failing utterly.

“Are you okay? I hear you walking around a lot.”

“Oh! Sorry, no. I mean, yes. Yes I’m all right, no there’s nothing wrong. Just thinking.”

“Can you come in, then? I’m struggling a bit with this topknot.” 

Katara hoped she wasn’t blushing as she opened the door. Zuko had his back to her, facing a mirror in the corner of the room as he tried to gather all of his hair on the top of his head. As she watched, he unknowingly pulled his topknot to the left, which allowed the shorter hair at the nape of his neck on the right side to slip out of his grasp. He grunted in frustration as he turned around.

“It’s still too short to do a half style without looking odd, but not long enough to—”

He trailed off when he caught sight of her. He stared, and were it not for the intensity of his expression she might have thought he looked funny, with a half-done topknot lilting to the side of his head. But the expression on his face took away her ability to think of anything else. He’d seen her wearing this same outfit before, many times, but she’d never seen him react to it this way, as if he knew that she’d worn it for him. There was a weight to his gaze that made her stomach flip pleasantly. 

“You look lovely, Katara. You’ll always be able to wear your mother’s necklace with that outfit now.”

She strode toward him, and for a wild moment she wondered if she’d kiss him when she reached him. He seemed to be wondering the same thing, which made her smile uncontrollably. But when she crossed the room, she just pulled the pin from his hair and let it fall. He watched her with unguarded affection, until she thought she might become addicted to it.

“Sit.” She gestured to the chair in front of the mirror. “I’ll put it up for you.”

His hair was thick and soft, and felt luxurious between her fingers. It was a shame to tie it all up, she thought. The only thing worse would be if she never got to touch him like this again. 

She took her time—more than she needed to—just combing her fingers through his hair. She could feel Zuko’s eyes watching her in the mirror, but was too afraid to look back at him. The moment was fragile, and one wrong move would ruin it. She tied his hair with the ribbon, then accepted the crown from his hand and slid it into place. She put her hands on his shoulders and finally smiled at him in the mirror.

“Perfect,” she said. She meant it; their reflection in the mirror, with her hands lightly on his shoulders, made them look like a couple. She could imagine posing with him like this for a portrait. He looked back at her, happy and open, until he glanced back at his own reflection, and his expression shut down.

“Almost perfect.” He covered his scar with his hand. “There, much better.”

“Zuko, no,” she said, pulling his hand away from his face. “Don’t do that.”

She walked around to lean on the vanity and face him. He refused to meet her eyes, making a self-effacing grimace instead.

“I know, I know. I shouldn’t say mean things about my own face, and the scar doesn’t make me who I am.”

“I once offered to try to heal it away,” she said contemplatively. She reached out a hand to trace the very edge of his scar with her fingertips. He drew in a shuddering breath at her touch. “But now, I think the scar does make you who you are, but not in the way you’re afraid of. You tried for so long to heal the hurt of it by doing what would make your father accept you—”

“And hurting everyone I should have been protecting in the process, and making every mistake it was possible to make.”

“But that’s just it. You got that scar for speaking the truth and trying to protect your people. The only mistake you ever made was in thinking you did the wrong thing by speaking out. The scar isn’t a symbol of you losing your honor, Zuko.” She cradled his face in both her hands. “It’s a symbol of how incredibly honorable you’ve always been. Ozai couldn’t take that away, and I think he knew it. That’s why he lashed out at you, banished you, and rejected you. I think he’s jealous because he knows he could never be as good as you.”

Zuko brought his hands up to hold onto her wrists. She could see his admiration for her in his eyes, but he was still conflicted. She hated that his own father and sister had made him think so lowly of himself. 

Jeong Jeong stood in the doorway and cleared his throat. It took everything she had to not scowl at him. She turned her head to see him looking politely away. She allowed herself a petulant frown at the side of his head.

“I’m sorry to interrupt, Fire Lord Zuko. The carriage is ready at your convenience.”

“Thank you, Jeong Jeong,” said Zuko. He stood, and in a gallant gesture that she never would’ve expected, bowed and then raised her hand to drop a courtly kiss on her knuckles. She tried not to blush, but knew that she was anyway.

“Will you accompany me to dinner, Lady Katara?”

“It will be my pleasure, Fire Lord Zuko,” she laughed. “Even more so now that I don’t have to wear a mask and try to keep Aang and Sokka from accidentally blowing our cover.”

He smiled down at her, and tucked her hand into his elbow as they walked to the carriage. She told him about her adventures the last time she was in the village while they rode toward the main square. Zuko laughed outright at her description of their encounter with the magic performer, and said that he was impressed by Sokka’s attempts to eat fire flakes. In almost no time the carriage dropped them off in front of a local restaurant.

“Fi-fire Lord Zuko. Welcome,” said the proprietor, staring at them with huge eyes. “We are honored by your visit.”

“Thank you.” Zuko smiled at the man, in a way that Katara knew was meant to be friendly, but it only had the effect of making him look more intimidating. 

The other man’s eyes flicked to Katara, and landed on her mother’s necklace. He swallowed nervously, and she knew exactly what was coming. 

“We usually—the law—only Fire Nationals—”

“My father’s wartime laws are no longer in effect. Members of all nations are welcome to move freely within our lands. And the Lady Katara is not only a hero, but also my guest.” His tone up to the last phrase was warm and understanding. Only when he spoke of her did she hear the underlying threat in his voice. She probably shouldn’t have been as gratified by his protectiveness as she was, but it gave her a thrill nonetheless. She squeezed his bicep in reassurance.

“Of course. This way, Fire Lord Zuko. Lady Katara.” The man lead them toward the center of the restaurant, toward a platform where several other well-to-do patrons were dining. 

“May we sit on the patio?” Katara asked the man. “I saw that there were some performers in the square, and I’d love to watch the play.”

The patron looked baffled at her choice. 

“Are you sure, my lady? Commoners may approach you, and there could be dust—”

“I’m not worried about that,” she reassured him. He nodded in apparent surprise. 

They enjoyed a casual meal of ramen while they watched the play. No one approached them, which made Katara was a little sad; she wouldn’t have minded meeting ordinary people. Most of the people who saw them sucked in a breath, nudged their companion, and whispered or giggled as they passed. Still, it was nice to share a meal with Zuko at an actual table.

That night, before they went to their separate rooms, Zuko caught her elbow. 

“I’m going to leave my door unlocked. If you have nightmares, please come and wake me.”

“You don’t have to—”

“Please come and wake me,” he repeated firmly. “Goodnight, Katara.”

Her room was right next door to Zuko’s. Someone had thoughtfully piled the bed with more blankets and comforters than she could possibly need, and the fire was banked high, with plenty of extra wood nearby. Next to the bed was a large, ornate vase filled with water, obviously placed there in case she needed a quick supply for bending. On the dresser was a small glass teapot with a warmer underneath. The smell of camomile and lavender gently floated through the room. 

Only Zuko could have thought of all this, and it warmed her heart that he had somehow found the opportunity to ask for it on her behalf. 

She drank her tea in the armchair by the fire, looking out the window at Jeong Jeong’s peaceful gardens in the moonlight. Then she removed half the blankets from the bed, smiling to herself as she settled in, and fell asleep remembering the look in Zuko’s eyes when he kissed her hand. 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> If you enjoyed, feel free to leave a comment! And you can also find me on twitter at NightworkJane. <3


	3. Gaipan Village

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Eeek! I'm sorry this chapter took so much longer than I planned. I did have the rough draft pre-written, but the edits for this chapter included a ton of re-writes that took a lot more work than I thought they would. Still, I hope you enjoy!

They set off early for Gaipan Village. Appa was in a cheerful mood, having eaten at least three quarters of his body weight in hay and melons supplied by Jeong Jeong. Zuko had offered to navigate again, but Katara turned him down. She quite liked guiding Appa, though she seldom got to do it when flying with Aang. Appa didn’t really need the guidance, since they were visiting another place he’d already been before. But he got lonely if he had to go for too long without someone to pat his head and tell him what a good boy he was. Zuko sat at the front of the saddle to keep her company as they flew. 

“I slept very comfortably last night,” she said when there was a lull in the conversation. She turned her head to look at Zuko’s face. She could see a light blush on his cheeks even as he tried to turn so that all she could see was the scar. “Someone went to a lot of trouble to make sure I’d be warm through the night. They even thought to make sure I had extra water, just in case I needed it.”

“Jeong Jeong asked if I thought you’d need anything,” he mumbled. “I wanted to make sure you had some nice things. To thank you for coming with me.”

He looked so nervous, so shy and unsure, that she couldn’t resist swooping back to give him a kiss on the cheek. She didn’t even think about it; it was something she’d done countless times with Aang, and he never took it to mean anything more than a gesture of friendship. With Zuko, of course, it was different. She realized that the second her lips touched him. She jerked back as if burned (and then wanted to roll her eyes at the sterotypical thought—burned by the touch of a firebender, how original) and stared straight ahead, wondering if her cheeks were as red as she thought they were. Neither of them said anything for a long moment. 

“Thank you,” she said softly when she thought she could trust her voice again. 

“You’re welcome,” he replied, equally soft. 

They stopped at a tiny hamlet in the Earth Kingdom around dinnertime and bought some food at the market for themselves and for Appa. It would have been convenient to stop there for the night, but Katara noticed several of the locals eying her with open hostility. She couldn’t imagine why until she overheard two people making some very unkind remarks about her for throwing in with a Fire Nation man, and what they thought of a woman who let herself be seduced by the enemy. She wasn’t afraid for her own safety; she’d fought people who were ten times more powerful. Including the sister of the man who now kept close to her side, watchful and protective. She felt more annoyed than anything else, because she knew it upset Zuko to think that his presence put her in danger. 

They took their food back to Appa and were soon flying far beyond the hamlet, though Zuko continued to look troubled.

“What are you thinking about?” she gently prompted. He looked up, startled out of his reverie. 

“I’m thinking about the time Uncle and I traveled separately for a little while. This was before we went to Ba Sing Se. Being alone gave me a lot of perspective. There was an Earth Kingdom boy who needed my help. We got along before he found out where I’m really from, but as soon as he realized I was a firebender, he didn’t want anything to do with me. I chalked it up to the war, and told myself when it was over things would get better. It still can—I believe that. But it’s gonna take so much time for the Fire Nation to regain the other nations’ trust.”

Katara nodded in understanding. 

“You’re right: it will take a long time, but it is possible. You knowing that it’s up to the Fire Nation to solve the problem tells me that you’ll be able to find a way. You’re already a better leader than your father. Besides, you have Aang and I to help you.”

He smiled at her, shaken out of his gloomy thoughts. 

“Well, thank all the spirits for that.”

Without directly discussing it they made the decision to fly through the night again. The less time Zuko spent on the ground in the Earth Kingdom, the better, especially since everyone knew what the new Fire Lord looked like. 

As the evening wore on and the sun went down, Katara remembered their conversation about the blankets, and Zuko’s offer to share them so that she wouldn’t get cold. She hesitated. It was one thing to let him comfort her when she woke up from a nightmare, but it was something else all together to intentionally set up one shared sleeping space for the two of them. 

He seemed content to leave the decision to her, which she appreciated. She put the decision off for as long as she could, but eventually she grew tired enough to feel her eyes slipping closed as she sat staring at the clouds floating by. She piled all of their blankets in the center of Appa’s saddle, and put their pillows side by side. Zuko followed her lead and brewed their nighttime tea. They drank it sitting on top of the covers, talking about everything and nothing. 

“I can heat the water in your canteen for you, so you can use it as a foot warmer,” he offered. When she readily agreed, he poured the water from her canteen into the now cleaned teapot, warmed it with his firebending until it was hot, and then simply poured it back in. Katara tucked it into the base of the covers, and when she snuggled down into their makeshift bed a few minutes later, she closed her eyes in sheer bliss. The wind buffeted all around them, sharp and cool, but under the blankets she was cocooned in steady warmth. It was the perfect way to sleep. 

Zuko seemed hesitant to join her, fussing over putting away the teapot and checking on Appa for longer than was necessary. She’d have thought he’d changed his mind and wanted to take back his offer if she hadn’t known him so well. He wasn’t nervous because he _didn’t_ want to be near her, she realized. He was nervous because he did. 

“Zuko, come and sleep,” she said, yawning halfway through her sentence so widely that even to her own it ears it sounded as if she’d said “common slee.”

He settled down next to her under the covers, mirroring her the way he had on their first night. 

“Is this too warm for you?” she asked him. He shook his head.

“No, I’m all right. What about you, though? Are you cold?”

Feeling bold, she scooted just a bit closer to him, smiling. 

“No, this is perfect.”

The moment stretched, and just as she had the day before, she wondered if this would be when she kissed him. 

“Jet’s alive,” he blurted, as if to stop her. Katara blinked in shock. 

“That’s good, I—wait. How do you know Jet?”

He explained their brief, tumultuous friendship. When he told her about them stealing the Earth Kingdom ferry captain’s food, she laughed out loud.

“Yup, sounds like Jet.”

“When I went back to the Fire Nation with Azula, after—” He paused, the memories of that fight between them obviously giving him as much pain as they did her. “After that, I asked around about him. I was hoping he was all right. For a long time I didn’t hear anything. But as it turns out, he’s fine. He went back to Gaipan after the war.”

Katara flopped onto her back to watch the stars, unable to look into Zuko’s eyes when she asked the next question. 

“Zuko?”

He waited. 

“Why did you go back? I thought you—” she stopped herself, frustrated. She’d imagined having this conversation with him a thousand times. She hated how vulnerable it made her feel to think about that day. For so long she’d wanted to shout at him, to force him to explain himself, to point her finger in his face and call him all sorts of names she only sometimes thought he deserved. But she never did, not even when she was angriest with him, because she never wanted to face the truth: he’d hurt her that day. She was still so hurt, even now. She’d thought they had a connection. She’d thought she’d broken through to him. Facing him in that cave with the light of the crystals all around them, offering to heal his scar, was the most romantically charged moment of her life. That was the first time she allowed herself to admit her feelings for him. She’d thought he felt the same. She’d thought he was going to leave with her, join her and her friends, and (she cringed to remember) live happily ever after with her. And then he’d turned his back on his uncle, the progress he’d made in his own life, and, most crushingly, her. He’d turned his back on her.

“You thought?” he prompted gently. She still couldn’t look at him, but she could feel his eyes on her all the same. 

She hoped he didn’t see the tears gathering in her eyes as she said, “I thought you wanted to be my friend.”

There was a horrible silence, and Katara didn’t think she could go much longer without openly crying. She sat up, about to make some feeble excuse about checking on Appa. But then Zuko sat up, too, and put a hand on her shoulder to keep her from going. 

“Your friendship has been the most important of my life.”

That was too tender a thing to say when she was so vulnerable. 

“Don’t say pretty things just to make me feel better. I’m not Mai,” she said bitterly, dabbing at her eyes in a way she hoped was discrete. 

“I know that.” He huffed in frustration, and out of the corner of her eye she saw him rub the back of his neck, as he always did when he was uncomfortable. She was glad that he’d kept her from kissing him, and wished she could take her half of the blankets and tuck herself on the opposite side of Appa’s saddle, and just pretend she had no more romantic feelings for him than she did for Toph. It was childish of her, but she couldn’t help it. She was embarrassed, and she hated feeling embarrassed. If they could just get through this conversation she’d lay back down facing away from him and force herself to go to sleep. 

“It doesn’t matter. I’m sorry, I know your family life was complicated. What matters is that you were there for Aang. You made the right choice in the end,” she said, hoping against hope to rush along to the end of the conversation. They still had a long journey ahead of them, and she wanted to smooth over the awkwardness as soon as possible. 

“ _No,_ don’t do that _._ Your question had nothing to do with Aang!” 

She jumped at the harshness of his voice, and drew her knees up further into her chest, turning her face completely away so he wouldn’t see her expression.

“Katara.” Her name was a hopeless plea for understanding. “I have always, always wanted to be your friend.”

She turned to glare at him, brimming with anger. 

“That’s not true and you know it,” she snapped. 

“Would you just _listen_ to me instead of telling me I’m lying?!”

“Fine!” She huffed, and looked away from him again. 

“From the day we met, you countered me at every turn. In the beginning, I kept thinking that if I could just win you over, you’d see that I wasn’t so bad. I kept your mother’s necklace tied around my wrist for weeks after the Earthbender revolt, hoping I’d have the chance to give it back to you. And then when I did have the chance, I tried to explain to you that my hunting Aang wasn’t about hating him. Back then, I thought that if I brought Aang back to my father, I’d be restored as Prince, and get my father to change his ways. Then you’d see I wasn’t the person you’d made me out to be. I was, actually, I just couldn’t see that. And then Ba Sing Se happened.”

He sighed again. She still faced the other way, but it hardly mattered. She could picture his face as easily as if she was looking at him directly. 

“I was so beaten down for so long. You and Aang and the others made me look like a fool every time we fought. Things got a little better when Uncle was running the tea shop, but no matter how much he kept telling me that we were doing the right thing, I kept seeing the faces of my father and sister, laughing at me. Little Lee, running to fetch bored socialites another cup of oolong, terrified that someone would find out he’s really a firebender. It didn’t feel like restoring my honor. It felt like bowing to defeat. And it was—the real path to restoring my honor was to join you and Aang, but I couldn’t see that yet. 

“I thought about you sometimes. Wondered what you were doing, hoped you were okay. Then felt guilty for it, because I knew you hated me and everything I stood for, and that I was supposed to hate you, too. I was—confused is a very mild way of putting it. Which is why I released Appa. That was the first time I truly did the right thing, and it twisted me up inside so badly I got sick. I had a fever for days.”

“I’m glad you’re telling me this, Zuko.” The softness of Katara’s voice surprised even herself. “But it doesn’t explain why you took Azula’s offer.”

“I know. It’s just—sometimes it’s hard for me to even begin to sort it all out. I have to go back to the beginning, over and over, and lay everything out step by step. In that cave, before Aang found us, I wanted to believe that could be the start of something new. You believing me when I said I was sorry about your mother, offering to heal my scar—Katara, you have no idea what that meant to me. That was more than I ever thought I could hope for from you. This will sound stupid to you, but that was maybe the happiest moment of my life since my mother disappeared.”

“It’s not stupid.”

Katara stared down at her feet, not trusting herself to look into his eyes. The cool wind made her huddle even further into herself, contrasted with the warmth her canteen still offered under the covers. 

Zuko sighed sadly. 

“Well, then Azula showed up. Uncle said, ‘Look into your heart.’ And I did. I really did. I knew, even in that moment, that what I really wanted was turn Azula down, go with Uncle, and beg to join you. But I don’t know if I can explain to you how _wrong_ that felt to me. It was this terrible feeling, to know that what I wanted in my heart was to betray my country. For one thing, it went against everything I thought I knew about the world, and about myself. For another—I thought you must surely have been trying to get me on your side for Aang’s sake, because there was no way you would ever want—”

“But I did!” Katara cried openly, no longer able not to. She turned to face him, and was shocked by how stricken he looked. “Of course I didn’t want you to fight Aang, I didn’t want _anybody_ to fight Aang. But I wanted you to come with us for me.”

She sucked in a breath, panicked at having admitted so much. “For you, I mean, I wanted you to want to be friends with us. With me.”

She winced; that didn’t make any sense. But he seemed to understand what she was trying to say, however ineloquently. Hesitantly, he reached for her hand. She let him take it, craving the reminder that he was there now—that he truly had made the right decisions in the end, and not just when it came to Aang.

“I’ve apologized for the things I did, but I never apologized for hurting you. I didn’t think you cared enough about me to be hurt by what I said or did. But I’ve owed you this apology for a long time. I’m so sorry, Katara. And I’m sorry I made you wait so long to hear it.”

The catharsis only made her cry harder, which she hated because she’d already cried in front of him so recently. He was going to think she was a blubbery mess, she fretted. He must miss Mai and her unflinching sophistication. 

He let go of her hand, but only to bring both of his palms up to cup her face. She sniffled while he wiped her tears away. His hands were so warm that it took a moment for her to realize he was making her tears evaporate, leaving only a comforting warmth behind. He smiled sadly when he saw the realization cross her face.

“My mother taught me that trick, when I was very little. Can I—” he hesitated, and she saw that same expression in his eyes that she used to see around the campfire, in his early days with the group. “Would you like a hug?”

She nodded, though she didn’t have the energy to move into his arms. He did the work for her, scooping her up and holding her in much the same way he’d done when she had the nightmare. Neither one of them acknowledged that what was happening was much more significant than just a hug, or that when they said “friend” the term held a great deal more weight than most friendships. But that could come later. For the moment she was just glad she finally understood what he’d been feeling. That he hadn’t duped her, and that he hadn’t wanted to hurt her. 

They broke apart after a few minutes, both a bit pink in the cheeks.

“We should get some sleep,” said Zuko. 

Katara nodded, and they settled back underneath the covers.

“Goodnight, Zuko,” she said tiredly, eyes already drifting closed. 

***

Gaipan Village was much the same as she remembered it from her last visit—pleasant, with a bustling central square.

“It looks like market day,” she said to Zuko. “Jeong Jeong said the guard was a potter now; maybe he has a stall.”

They bought dumplings from one of the food vendors and asked around about the potter. They found out that he was not at the market, but that they could find his shop at the end of one of the main streets. 

“Ugh, my dumplings got cold,” Katara groused as they made their way up the street.

Zuko smirked, and held out his hand.

“Give ‘em here. I’ll warm them up.”

“No, you can’t! We’re in the Earth Kingdom. People will freak out if they see you firebending.”

Zuko made a show of looking around the empty street.

“No one’s here. And I doubt you’re going to tell on me.”

Reluctantly, she handed over the skewer of dumplings. They really were much better when heated through. He quickly warmed them, and then handed them right back to her. The first bite was delicious. 

“So not only was I right about you being a firebender, you’re the _Fire Lord_.”

Jet stepped from the shadows, every bit of his old swagger still in place despite the crutches he now walked with. He regarded them both sardonically, though the veneer cracked a bit when his gaze lingered on Katara. 

“Lady Katara,” he acknowledged with a brief bow of the head. “You’re keeping interesting company these days.”

“Zuko is not his father.”

“He’s still a firebender.” 

“Yes, he is. He’s the firebender who trained the Avatar in firebending. You don’t know what you’re talking about, Jet.”

“We don’t plan to overstay our welcome, and we’re not here for political reasons. I’m searching for my mother, who disappeared when I was a child. We have reason to believe that the man running the pottery shop may know where she’s been living. As soon as I find out, I will leave Gaipan.”

Jet nodded, considering. 

“I’m not here to kick you out. You may not know it, but you are in danger. The Earth Kingdom does not have fond memories of the Fire Nation’s time occupying this region. I’ll take you to your potter, and see you safely out. The last thing I want is the new Fire Lord getting injured in my village, when we’re just starting to rebuild.”

Katara and Zuko exchanged a look. That seemed a little too reasonable to be believed, but they’d take their luck where they could find it.

“I’m sorry about the dumplings, Katara,” Jet said as he motioned for everyone to continue advancing up the street.

It was only then that she realized she’d dropped the dumplings onto the ground in her surprise at Jet’s sudden appearance. She cursed softly under her breath, but softened when she looked up at him and saw that, of all the things he could’ve been sorry for, he truly did seem sad at depriving her of her lunch. 

“It’s good to see you again, Jet. When we left Ba Sing Se, I thought—”

“So did I,” he nodded. “Turns out, your battle distracted everyone long enough for me to get out. You didn’t have time to do much, but I couldn’t have been moved safely if it wasn’t for the healing you did. So thank you, Katara. For saving my life. The doctors even say I’ll probably be able to walk without these crutches in a few more months.”

“I’m glad,” was all she trusted herself to say. “You have a talent for seeing the best in others, even when they might not necessarily deserve it,” Jet said, with a significant look in Zuko’s direction. 

Beside her she felt Zuko seethe.

“Yes. She does,” he said evenly. 

“Relax, Zuko. I’m referring to myself.” 

He wasn’t, of course, but Katara was willing to let it slide. It was good enough to see him alive. 

“Have you met anyone or heard of anyone in the area that meets the description of Zuko’s mother?” Katara asked, to prevent further posturing between the two men. Jet shook his head, though he had the decency to look regretful.

“I’m sorry, no. It’s one thing for the potter; no one knew what he looked like outside of the capital. But it would be difficult for someone so high-ranking in the Fire Nation to have gone undetected here. We were occupied for a long time.”

At the end of the street, in front of a wide field, stood the potter’s shop. It was pretty part of the town—the field lay below the cliff of the dam, with the river flowing off to the left. It was peaceful, serene: an ideal space for an artist’s workshop.

Katara felt the heat of the kiln before she caught sight of the man running it. He wasn’t in his shop, instead attending to what looked like a new tea set he was preparing to fire. There were several other finished sets sitting out as well, including one that caught her eye immediately. The work was beautiful, delicate. Swirls decorated the sides of teapot, in a pattern that reminded her of the waves carved into her mother’s necklace. Yin-Wai the potter recognized Zuko as soon as he laid eyes on him. He froze in shock, eyes wide. Zuko strode forward and presented him with a scroll.

“Yin-Wai, this is an official pardon, and commendation for your bravery in service of the Fire Lady. I would by no means force you to do anything, but you are welcome and free to return to the Fire Nation any time you wish. You have my thanks both as your Fire Lord, and as my mother’s son.”

The older man’s eyes filled with tears as he accepted the scroll. 

“It’s been many years, your Majesty, but I always knew I did the right thing. I knew you’d make a fine Fire Lord. And so you have. Fire Lady Ursa will be so proud.”

“I’m looking for her now,” said Zuko, flushing from the praise in a way that made Katara’s heart squeeze. “Is she near here? Do you know where?”

“Oh no, your Majesty, she’s not around here. Too many people would know who she was. I arranged for an escort for her, to her to her family’s estate near Omashu. It’s the Lemonpeach Estate.”

“I think I know it!” Katara said excitedly. “I remember seeing a whole grove of beautiful lemonpeach trees, and Toph said something about it being a famous estate.”

“That’s the one,” said Yin-Wai. “And I know she must still be there. If there was bad news, it would’ve been made public a long time ago.”

Katara thought she saw something moving in one of the tree branches just on the other side of the river, but when she looked again there was nothing there. She told herself to stop being paranoid and refocused her attention on the conversation between Zuko and Yin-Wai, which had passed to the best methods for firing pottery. Jet was clearly growing bored; he’d begun leaning on his crutch so he could take out his swords and idly twirl them. Katara rolled her eyes. So much for being concerned about their safety.

“Your work on this is exquisite,” said Zuko, pointing to the very tea set she had coveted. “My Uncle’s birthdays is soon. I’d like to buy it, if it hasn’t already been purchased.”

“Oh no you don’t!” Katara leapt forward. That tea set was the perfect coronation gift for Zuko. His uncle had a variety of elaborate and beautiful tea sets already, but Zuko had none that he could truly call his own, apart from the very plain one he traveled with. He deserved something beautiful, one of a kind. She couldn’t afford much that would be worthy of a Fire Lord, but this she could. Yin Wai turned to stare slack-jawed at the woman who’d just scolded the new Fire Lord, but Jet and Zuko just looked amused.

“I wanted to buy that one. It’s—got water designs on it.”

She heard something whistling toward her through the air. In the split second it took for her to recognize the sound, and register the change in Zuko’s expression from amusement to horror, she whipped a slice of water through the air and and snapped the flaming arrow in half. She reacted purely on reflex—she didn’t even see the arrow until it fell uselessly to the ground.

In an instant Zuko leapt forward and shoved her behind him. A circular wall of fire rose around them, towering high above their heads. 

Katara reached out to touch his shoulder, to placate him. The flames were under control, but just barely. There was a wildness to the energy she felt coming from Zuko that reminded her of when Aang went unwillingly into the Avatar state. 

“I’m all right, Zuko. Try to relax.”

He gave a tense nod. The flames lowered to chest height. Katara looked around and saw Jet, standing at the ready with his swords drawn. Yin-Wai stood in fighting stance as well. She realized that of course he must be a firebender—it would make sense that the Fire Lord’s guard would be benders. 

All four of them faced a line of newcomers, walking toward them across the field beneath the cliff. 

“Who _dares_?” Zuko snarled. 

“That arrow came from the cliff,” Jet said under his breath to Katara. 

She locked eyes with him. The dam. 

With his eyes he told her he that he was sorry, but he had to go. The dam was vulnerable, and he couldn’t risk the village being destroyed a second time. She smiled to let him know that she approved, and that she wasn’t afraid. 

“We’ll create an opening for you to go. Take Yin-Wai—he can firebend,” she said quietly. “They know him in the village; they’ll let him help.”

“I will stand with my Fire Lord,” Yin-Wai declared, glaring at the newcomers with calm menace.

“Do as Lady Katara says,” Zuko replied. “Her strategy is a sound.”

The line of men, about fifteen of them Katara guessed, all in resplendent Fire Nation aristocratic attire, finally came within earshot. 

“We have a message for the Pretender Zuko. We—”

“I don’t care.” Zuko’s voice was lethal and furious. 

Katara understood in that moment that Zuko truly hadn’t ever meant physical harm toward her or Aang, even when they were enemies. She could hear now just much he wanted to kill these men. 

“I know who you are, and I know what you want. You’re from the Order of New Ozai, and you want my father back on the throne. But I don’t care. You gave up any right to be treated with honor when you tried to kill Katara.”

The man who had spoken first grew red in the face, and opened his mouth to make a no-doubt scornful reply, but the center-most man stepped forward, and waved him back. Katara judged him to be in his mid-forties, and everything about his bearing spoke of a man used to authority. He regarded Zuko with amusement and contempt, as though he were a toddler screaming over a lost toy. He ignored Katara entirely. 

She listened to the sound of the river, watched the long grass he stood upon sway in the breeze, and thought of the millions of gallons of water in the dam high above their heads, and tried not to smirk. 

“I thought you might get upset if I threatened your girlfriend. Teenagers often do. Your attitude is just another demonstration of your total inability to be the Fire Lord. What do you think, that you can make her Fire Lady? She’s from the _Southern Water Tribe_ , Zuko. They don’t even have anything worth raiding for anymore. And she doesn’t want you—she’s in a relationship with the Avatar. You’re disgracing your entire nation for a girl not fit to be your mistress.”

Katara flicked her eyes from Zuko, to Jet, to Yin-Wai.

“Can they bend, Zuko?” she whispered, careful to tuck her face behind his shoulder so they couldn’t see her lips move.

He shook his head.

“Go!” she shouted.

Jet and Yin-Wai sprinted back toward the village. Before the Fire Nation men could react, she called the water from the grass under the mens’ feet and splashed it all along their hands, then instantly froze it in place—their intimidating regalia was designed for them to hold their hands in front of their torsos, unwittingly making them an easy target for her.

It was over in a second. 

“Not fit to be his mistress, huh?” Katara snorted. “Why is it that men always underestimate me? It’s getting annoying.”

She turned back to Zuko and said, “We should tie their hands with real rope. As much as they annoy me they don’t deserve frostbite.”

Zuko looked as though he didn’t care one way or another, but nodded. They went into Yin-Wai’s shop and soon found a few suitable lengths of twine. They cut them up into equal portions and then returned to the line of men, starting at opposite ends and working toward the middle. Some of them seemed terrified of her, others contemptuous. None of them struggled—they all seemed to view themselves as above petty fistfights. Or perhaps they didn’t like the idea of hitting a woman. Whatever the reason, Katara was happy to just bind their hands and move along. 

They reached the center of the line, and the de facto leader of the group. Katara was about to bind his hands when she looked down and saw a puddle on the dead grass at his feet. She looked up and saw him smirking at her in the split second before he grabbed her hair with his left hand and yanked them both backwards, hard, until she lost her footing and fell. Zuko cried out in shock and alarm at the same time she did, leaping toward her. 

Ordinarily the pain would have been her main focus, but at the same time the man punched out with his right hand. A fireball left his fist and collided directly with Zuko’s shoulder. 

Katara howled in rage, struggling savagely against the man’s iron grip. She reached for her canteen, but he anticipated her. He reached down and yanked it from the tie that secured it to her waist, and set fire to it. She cried out in true loss and pain—the canteen had been a gift from her mother. 

The man grunted as she continued to writhe and kick, too upset to properly fight, and brought his other hand down to tangle in her hair as well. He yanked her up none too gently, just as Zuko was preparing to fire at him. 

“You assumed that I can’t bend because my daughter can’t,” said the man. “Or because you’ve never seen me do it. But I am through playing games with you, Prince Zuko. You will honor your father, marry my daughter as our families decreed, and restore the line of succession. You will stop this farce or I will kill your precious water witch.”

“Mai will disown you when she hears of this, Ukano,” Zuko said, his voice calm but his face pale. “And Katara is more powerful than you can possibly imagine. You’ve already lost.”

Subtly, Katara dropped one hand, then the other. She pretended to droop in defeat, but instead she breathed, and centered herself. 

She opened her eyes and looked at Zuko. They stared at each other for a split second in perfect understanding. 

Her movements were restricted, but she could still do enough to call the moisture from the air and solidify it, just above her head, in front of her captor’s face. Quick as lightning, Zuko fired three blasts of fire directly above her head. When the fire hit the water, it evaporated to steam. 

Katara dropped as soon as Ukano let go of her hair, falling to her knees and springing back up in an instant. Ukano clutched his burned face and screamed in agony, but Katara had no attention to spare him. She ran straight to Zuko, but stopped, hurt, when he stode past her without even looking at her. Instead he bent over Ukano and quickly tied his hands behind his back. Only then did he straighten and turn to face her.

“Are you all right?” she asked. She started toward him again. “Let me heal you.”

“Am _I_ all right?” He shook his head in disbelief, laughed, swept her up in his arms, and kissed her. 

_Oh_ , Katara thought distantly, and _Finally_. 

She wanted to hold him the same way he was holding her, but his shoulder was still injured, so she contented herself with running her hands through his hair. She stood on tip-toe to be even closer to him, and he took the hint and tightened his left arm around her lower back to keep her in place. 

Katara thought Zuko would be a passionate kisser, wild and unpredictable. Though the idea had excited her, the reality was better. He _was_ passionate—she could feel him pouring everything he’d held back for so long into the way he held her, the way he kissed her, and the way he trembled, just slightly, from her touch. But he wasn’t wild. He was intuitive, paying attention to her every movement, never forcing, just giving. His kisses were so tender, cherishing—so loving she thought she might cry. 

They broke apart slowly, both reluctant to let go of such a defining moment. She nuzzled her nose against his, which made him smile. 

“Let me heal you,” she said again. He nodded this time, and let focus on the burn on his shoulder. It was nothing like his injury from Azula’s lightning; this took only a matter of seconds to be completely healed. This time without even a scar, she noted with satisfaction. 

Zuko lifted his shoulders and stretched experimentally. He grinned at her, swooping in for a quick kiss on the cheek, making her giggle.

“You are the best at that.” 

Katara offered to heal Ukano’s face, but he shouted obscenities and insults at her until she grew tired of listening to him, so she eventually gave up. She and Zuko herded the captured Fire Lord nobles back toward the center of town, where they could be turned over to the Earth Kingdom authorities to await transport back to Capital City. 

“This is going to be a nightmare,” Zuko groaned. “Legally, politically, logistically.”

She patted his arm. “True, but we’re all alive. That’s what really matters.”

They found Jet as soon as they entered the town square, guarding a lone, extremely disgruntled Fire Nation noble. Jet turned and gave them a grin and a wave.

“Found this moron trying to single-handedly blow up the dam. I thought firebenders were supposed to be good at blowing things up?” He turned back to the prisoner. “You’re gonna ruin your whole nation’s reputation by yourself.”

There was no point in pretending to be mere tourists anymore, so they called Appa into the village square, much to the delight of both the village children and Appa. They pretended not to notice when the kids slipped him melon after melon as they climbed all over him and got him to lay on his side so they could rub his belly. The villagers insisted on gifting Zuko and Katara with plenty of food—more than they probably needed—to thank them for getting rid of the New Order of Ozai. 

Yin-Wai approached them last, holding a box. He smiled at them both as he handed the box to Zuko.

“I’m handing the tea set to you, Zuko, but I won’t say which one of you is owner. You’ll have to decide that between yourselves.”

Katara pulled Jet aside just before they left. 

“I really am glad to see you, Jet. And I’m glad you seem to be doing so much better.”

Jet gave her one of his roguish smiles, but it was sincere, too.

“I’m glad to see you, too, Katara. And I like Zuko, for what it’s worth. You two will be good for each other.”

“I hope we can friends,” she said. She held out her hand for him to shake, which he gladly accepted.

“We already are.”

She rejoined Zuko then, and they both climbed aboard Appa. They waved at the villagers and children as they took off, Appa giving a soft roar to make the children laugh one last time. 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> If you enjoyed, please feel free to leave a comment! I'm a little behind on responding, but I always do reply to each one and I promise they make my day every time. You can also find me on twitter at NightworkJane, if you'd like to say hi! <3

**Author's Note:**

> I hope you enjoyed the prologue! Please feel very free to leave a comment if you did; they always make my day. You can also find me on twitter as NightworkJane if you want to say hi!


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